Drieu Godefridi is a jurist (University Saint-Louis, University of Louvain), philosopher (University Saint-Louis, University of Louvain) and PhD in legal theory (Paris IV-Sorbonne). He is an entrepreneur, CEO of a European private education group and director of PAN Medias Group. The author of The Green Reich (2020), he is a fellow traveler of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), a conservative, nationalist political party.
Grégoire Canlorbe: You were a list leader for the conservative party N-VA in 2024 Belgian federal election. How do you sum up what this party can bring to the Belgians and, in particular, the Walloons?
Drieu Godefridi: The N-VA's primary strength lies in its seriousness. This is what convinced me to carry its colors in Wallonia, despite the priority objective set out in its statutes — the independence of Flanders — which actually does not evoke much enthusiasm from the Walloons. This is seriousness in the best sense of the term: the leaders of the N-VA have a perfect grasp of the workings of the Belgian system, in all its layers and details. When they propose reforms, they are not empty words.
Belgium operates under a proportional system that requires the formation of multi-party coalitions, in the tradition of Italy, the Netherlands, or Israel, and the electoral landscape is structured into two blocs — Francophone and Dutch-speaking. Nevertheless, their program systematically addresses the major ills of Belgian political life, starting with the abysmal debt that threatens our financial balance.
Next comes the issue of creeping Islamization, fueled by powerful Islamist networks, particularly in Brussels, and to a lesser extent in Antwerp. In my view, no Francophone party has until now offered such determination or clarity of analysis on the Islamization of our societies and the crushing tax burden on citizens. The Reform Movement (MR) seems today to be embarking on a similar path, being a major partner of the N-VA at the federal level. The N-VA takes its inspiration from the Irish philosopher Edmund Burke and defends the market economy.
Belgium is virtually bankrupt; its debt and budget deficit are out of control. This is mission No. 1 for the N-VA: to get public finances back on track. The success of this mission determines everything else.
Canlorbe: The N-VA is reproached for lumping all Muslims together and thereby justifying all sorts of alleged persecutions against Muslims, both domestically (such as to prohibit the veil) and in foreign policy (such as supporting supposedly indiscriminate bombings in Gaza). What do you reply to those criticisms?
Godefridi: The N-VA claims to have an inclusive nationalism, as opposed to Vlaams Belang, whose nationalism is still strongly tinged with references to the white race. There are Muslims among the members, staff and voters of the N-VA. The N-VA has never -- in word, writing or deed -- adopted a position of rejecting Muslims, even if the party does claim the right to criticize and reject Islam as a political doctrine — which is my position on the subject.
Some parties that unreservedly welcome Islamists do not hesitate to accuse us of lumping Islamists together with the whole Muslim community. I am particularly thinking of the Communist Party (PTB), and Écolo — which are on the far left — and, more unfortunately, the Brussels Socialist Party (PS). For them, any criticism of Islam — which, please recall, is not a race, but a political doctrine — automatically falls into the categories of Islamophobia and racism. Islam, as a political ideology, refers to the use of the principles, values or texts of Islam — in particular the Koran, the Sunnah and the Hadith -- to structure a system of governance, laws and public policies
Having closely worked with the N-VA and regularly exchanged views with numerous party representatives, I have never encountered a single person who could be described as racist. This even includes controversial figures such as Theo Francken, whom Écolo had the audacity to caricature as an SS officer, which is profoundly disgraceful.
The N-VA wants to ban the veil in public administration, and in schools — that is all. For the rest, freedom remains the order of the day. Regarding Gaza, on October 8, 2023 Bart De Wever clearly expressed his solidarity with Israel, but since then, has continued to deplore the supposed heavy-handedness of the Israelis in Gaza, even though Israel has reportedly done "more than any other military in history to minimize civilian casualties" in a place where every inch above ground appears to have been booby-trapped for violence -- including schools, UN facilities and mosques.
The representatives of the N-VA seem distinguished by their intelligence and their sense of state, far removed from the crude racism on the far left, where individuals are judged by the color of their skin. That is a perverse form of racism, allied with a new anti-Semitism, unfortunately, re-emerging on the left with a worrying severity. When a far-left "comedian", Herman Brusselmans, writes that he wants to slit the throats of every Jew he meets in the street, what is funny? Is that humor or a call to murder?
Canlorbe: Please tell us about Prime Minister Bart de Wever. What distinguishes him from -- or makes him similar to -- his counterparts such as Georgia Meloni in Italy, or Emmanuel Macron in France?
Godefridi: In today's current political landscape in Europe, one finds mostly grand speeches; Wever, coming from a small country, a small region — Flanders — embodies exceptional stature. He possesses a depth of thought. "Philosopher-king," in his case, takes on its full meaning: a historian by training, he analyzes the field of possibilities based on a solid historical perspective, a fine knowledge of the Flemish political landscape, and a sharp sense of strategy.
Since he became the Prime Minister of Belgium, his interventions — both in the Chamber and in the media — testify to a rare quality, both in form and substance. His moderation and sense of measure stand in contrast to the constant exaggeration observed in many parties, especially on the left. He seems to be a personality of exceptional stature at the Belgian level.
On the European scene, he is like Meloni. She has been criticized as "Mussolinian," condemned for her supposed lack of competence, but she has proven to be one of the best Italian political figures of the post-war era, and is achieving remarkable results. Today, she is the preferred interlocutor of the United States in Europe. She never shows any animosity toward Ursula von der Leyen. Simply put, she is more effective.
The comparison with Emmanuel Macron is, alas, the opposite: welcomed with open arms by the French press and the state apparatus, which had sidelined François Fillon, his main competitor, his term has only exacerbated a decline that was already underway before he came to power. This decline, present in economic, social, and technological terms, affects all domains; France, once embodied by General Charles de Gaulle as a visionary power at the forefront of modernity, can no longer regain its former stature. The political quagmire in which the country has been mired since the last dissolution is a sad illustration of this. Having written my thesis at the Sorbonne, it is even more painful seeing a great country sink like that.
Canlorbe: A few days prior to Trump's reelection, you released a Facebook video in which, along with Alain Destexhe, you confided your opinion that Trump's return would be some good news for the Europeans. Is your hope satisfied?
Godefridi: The good news with Trump's return, for us Europeans, is that Trump's return forces us finally to take on our responsibilities, whether in military, geopolitical, or economic terms. It signifies the end of a Europe that spends its time legislating for the world, creating countless regulatory cathedrals meant to govern the entire world: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), competition, carbon tax, GAFAs, penalizing freedom of expression, REACH ... All this under a constant infusion of money, directly or indirectly American, which is now obviously over. For 20 years, Europe has been under-investing in its military capabilities and relying on the American umbrella. For the past 20 years, America's taxpayers have been funding European defense on a massive scale.
From this perspective, Europe is sent back to its geopolitical reality -- less than what, until recently, some European politicians may have fantasized. Europe is also sent back to its financial and economic reality, which, unfortunately, is that of an aging continent bearing the yoke of an ideology that is a mix of extreme environmentalism and socialism, with wide-open doors to millions of Islamist newcomers. Today the main problem of Europe appears to be the European Union — apart from the Common Market, a practical necessity. European law, sadly, has become an instrument that prevents economic development.
The cost of energy, for instance, is today three to five times higher in Europe than in most countries of the world, especially the United States. No industry can withstand such a differential for very long. The cost of this energy, however, is entirely the result of policies decided at the level of the European Union.
So yes, the resurgence of Trump is good news for Europe, but only in the sense that it forces Europeans finally to take their economic and military responsibilities seriously, especially now in Ukraine.
Canlorbe: You regularly travel to Paris, Brussels, or Amsterdam for your activities as an entrepreneur. How do you assess the "business climate" there?
Drieu Godefridi: Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam — these are cities in distress, often for the same reasons: a migratory surge and a management that is primarily socialist. Paris and Brussels are dirty, saturated with aggression, and everywhere you go you encounter asylum seekers who have been denied asylum and have no right to reside in the country but remain there nonetheless because they are supposedly "undeportable". The police try to do their job but are constantly sabotaged by "left" and "far-left" judges who, under various pretexts, release the worst thugs, criminals and rapists.
Admittedly, Dutch management far surpasses that of Belgium or France. In the Netherlands, public debt represents 50% of GDP, compared to 106% and 114% in Belgium and France. A country can ensure budgetary rigor and prosperity if it wants to.
Our cities, like the rest of Western Europe, are buckling under the yoke of all sorts of regulations, the source of which is the European Union. There is no longer a real business climate, and European law acts as an instrument of economic castration. Take energy: its cost is five to seven times higher in Europe than in the United States — no industry can sustainably withstand such a differential.
By contrast, Switzerland remains a paradise: for the last decade, its industrial production has grown by about 40%, while that of Germany has fallen. Despite significant migration and a few small Islamist enclaves, Switzerland offers light taxation, a higher standard of living, and a commitment to the civil tradition that encourages entrepreneurship without bombarding it with countless regulations or resorting to arbitrary administrative interventions.
American entrepreneurs peer at us Western Europeans as once West Germans looked at East Germans: cousins, brothers, but on a totally opposed trajectory. With the exception of Switzerland, Western Europe is mired in economic, financial, and civilizational backwardness.
It is time to draw inspiration from this model, without copying it servilely, to put our continent back on the path of growth, creativity, and well-being. Our challenge, of truly civilizational scope, is to restore hope — the possibility for every European family to build a better future for their children — one commensurate with Europe's great, historical contribution to civilization.
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